Most conventional full-sized ultrasound scanning systems have a video display and a user interface directly attached or connected to each other for facilitating an intimate examination of scanned images by an operator, such as an ultrasound technician or a physician. Typically such full-sized systems are desk or cart supported and are movable only by pushing a relatively large cart or wheeled system into position relative to the patient, or having the patient position themselves relative to the ultrasound system.
As known in the art, the conventional full-sized ultrasound scanning systems are typically equipped with large ultrasound scanners with relatively large corresponding screens, such that high-resolution images are generated and displayed on the large screen. The ultrasound scanning system and the screens are connected to each other by wired connections and are also directly wired to the domestic or commercial power supply system for the building, such as 110 volt, 60 cycle current (in the US) and 220 volt, 50 cycle current (in Europe). A separate, large keyboard is also provided with the conventional ultrasound scanning system for inputting commands and a trackball, mouse, trackpad or other pointing device for moving a cursor on the screen of the display.
The full-sized ultrasound scanning systems generally are provided with a number of input sockets for receiving cable connectors for different ultrasound probes that may be used for scanning different portions of a human body or other objects of interest. The probes provided for the full-sized systems are provided with a large number, such as 128 or 256, of transducers to provide a high resolution scan image. Generally, each transducer is connected by a separate channel or wire to the ultrasound electronics for conversion into the display image. Thus, the cables connecting the probes to the ultrasound electronics housing contain hundreds of shielded wires for the transducer signals, as well as wires for electrical power and control of the transducers.
Although these full-sized components of the conventional ultrasound scanning system provide high quality scanned images, manual mobilization of such conventional systems is difficult and their use is limited generally to dedicated locations in a health care facility. Further, these full sized systems require direct connection to an electrical power supply in that the ultrasound electronics and the displays consume a significant amount of power. The costs for such full-sized ultrasound units are also relatively high.
There have been developed and commercialized smaller, more portable scanning systems, such as based on units that have a size similar to lap top computers (portable) or even hand-held tablets (ultraportable), however these portable and ultra-portable units have suffered from some drawbacks. Although these units allow the ultrasound scanning of a patient to occur in locations that are not dedicated for ultrasound scanning, including at the hospital bedside or other locations, the image quality on the correspondingly smaller screens of these portable systems is reduced, due to the small size of the screen, and also due to the reduced number of transducers provided in probes used in these portable systems. Many of these portable systems operate on battery power carried in the hand-held unit, allowing for limited power available for the scanner probes, and leading to a reduced number of transducers in the probes. This reduced number of transducers results in a reduced resolution of the image typically displayed on the small screen of the portable unit.
The relative small screens of the portable and ultraportable ultrasound scanning systems make it difficult to the medical personnel to clearly see the images provided by the scanning system, and to accurately measure structures detected by the scanning system. Also, it is often desirable to show the scanned images to the patients or other observers while the scanning is occurring. With the portable and ultraportable systems, the small size of the screen makes this difficult and the orientation of the small screen towards the medical personnel operator, for controlling the imaging of the scanner, also detracts from allowing the patient and other observers to clearly see the scanned images.
It would be advantageous to provide a portable or ultraportable ultrasound scanning system that generates a high quality image on a screen, and also that would provide a high quality image on a large screen visible to the patient, as well as to the medical personnel operating the ultrasound equipment.